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T-Mobile CEO Legere: Apple’s ‘incredible quality focus’ pushed T-Mobile ahead, #bendgate is horses—t

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TPfpNgKlSE&start=1209]

In a Geekwire Interview this week, the ever-NSFW but entertaining CEO of T-Mobile spoke on a variety of mobile carrier subjects near and dear to our hearts.  But slightly after 20-minute mark, Legere stepped it up a notch with some Bendgate bashing calling the whole thing horses–t…

On the iPhone 6’s bending problems (Minute 20:15): 

“That is such horses—t. Listen, what the f—k‚ did you need to see? The video of the guy that’s doing this, and if you could have seen his face he probably would have been purple and the veins are coming out of his fingers. And the thing moves a little bit? Are you sh—ing me?”

“This is an amazing supercomputer in your hand. What the f– are you putting it in your pants and sitting on it for? Seriously. You know what, those nine people who sat on their phones, first of all, they need jeans that fit them a little better.

“Let me help you about bendgate or whatever it was. It’s not slowing down demand. The demand for these devices in the last few weeks is unbelievable.”

Soon after (23:50) and probably more substantial, he spoke about Apple’s pushing T-Mobile to push better technology through its quality focus which gave T-Mobile a lead and now a competitive advantage with Wifi Calling and VoLTE…

Also this weekend, Re/Code’s Walt Mossberg reviewed Wifi handoff of the T-Mobile hotspot video below.  I also put it through its paces a few days before the iPhone 6 launched and found it to be a game changer for those of us with dead spots in our homes.

 

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Comments

  1. Joefrey Kibuule - 9 years ago

    Only problem is that you can’t have both WiFi calling and Handoff/Continuity enabled at the same time, and since texting/taking phone calls from my Mac/iPad is more valuable to me than WiFi calling, I don’t have it enabled. :(

    • Alan Aurmont - 9 years ago

      A bummer indeed. I don’t understand what one has to do with the other.

      • Joefrey Kibuule - 9 years ago

        I’m guessing that if you were to be on a phone call on your Mac and your phone were to walk away outside of WiFi range, you’d need to deal with that somehow. But it seems like a solvable problem.

    • Jassi Sikand - 9 years ago

      Is this confirmed? I didn’t see this as a thing. Also, where are you going to be in dead spots where you need to take calls from your Mac?

      • Joefrey Kibuule - 9 years ago

        You are only going to see this if you are running Yosemite and already have Continuity set up, a warning will appear when you try to turn on WiFi calling that Contuinity will be disabled (no more phone calls on your Mac/iPad).

        I was mistaken however, Handoff will continue to work (opening a webpage on one iOS/Mac that was present on another device). I got confused with the terms.

    • focher - 9 years ago

      I don’t think that’s true. I have both enabled and haven’t seen a problem.

  2. Alan Aurmont - 9 years ago

    What the hell is Horse’s T ???

  3. Alex (@Metascover) - 9 years ago

    He’s talking about you too 9to5.

  4. standardpull - 9 years ago

    Well it is clear that Samsung is perpetuating the myth. Samsung even has an advertisement that attempts to keep this falsehood in the public eye. You know its a silly story when T-Mobile, one of Samsung’s major retailers, calls out the ridiculousness of the claim.

    But this is a great move for Samsung. Samsung was caught completely flatfooted by the iPhone 6 series. With falling sales and falling profits, Samsung is very much in trouble within its smartphone unit. And so now the only thing that Samsung can do is try to fool the public into thinking Samsung is something other than a has-been player.

    It works. Samsung pays for an army of marketeers and supporters that will do nothing to stop their rhetoric. Anything to keep Samsung from losing more sales will help their bottom line and their shareholders. There is nothing else Samsung can really do at this point except to keep on with the crazy stories in hopes of fooling the public.

    Will Samsung ever be able to recover from their smartphone failure? Perhaps in a few years. There are some great people that work for Samsung. But Samsung leadership simply isn’t there, and so Samsung will very likely be several years behind Apple and other market leaders for the foreseeable future.

    But the next time you see someone with a Samsung, give them some sympathy. They’ve been duped by some of the best marketeers in the business.

    • 89p13 - 9 years ago

      ” Samsung pays for an army of marketeers and supporters that will do nothing to stop their rhetoric”

      Possibly that Horseshit spouting Troll that lives on this board? :lol:

    • Dean Har - 9 years ago

      When anything goes wrong in Apple land, blame Samesung…..

      • Dean Har - 9 years ago

        Crap I meant Samsung… These paid Apple supporters and marketeers really know how to get in your head.

      • vandiced - 9 years ago

        Lmaooooo

      • focher - 9 years ago

        and THAT is why they shouldn’t allow people to edit their posts

      • Edison Wrzosek - 9 years ago

        And right on queue, the horseshit spouting troll arrives with more of the same horseshit… I’m referring to herb BTW, so no one else need take offence :)

      • thejuanald - 9 years ago

        And right on cue, the douchebag arrives with more stupid shit. I’m referring to you Edison, or should I say, TallestSkil v. 2.0.

    • whatyoutalkingboutwillis - 9 years ago

      Apple doesn’t spend a dime on marketing, only Samsung does. Also there are no good reasons for having a Samsung phone every single aspect of their phones us completely useless and terrible

      • whatyoutalkingboutwillis - 9 years ago

        Is

      • Edison Wrzosek - 9 years ago

        Wow, definitely believe that Mr Herb the Dweeb over here is on the payroll of every one of Apple’s competitors, most especially Scamdung, as he practically lives on the blog board of a company he purports to loathe and hate… What a loser.

  5. 89p13 - 9 years ago

    Well – Somebody in the “business” who’s willing to call it like he sees it! Outstanding. And I totally agree with him about the iPhone 6 and it’s power.

    Great insight – and funny! ;)

    • Dean Har - 9 years ago

      You guys tend to run wild with your Samsung marketing conspiracy theories, yet somehow can’t manage to recognize one of the most out-spoken Pro-Apple marketeers when he’s staring at you from across the screen. The fact that he’s “in the business” does not mean we can expect anything unbiased to come out of his mouth. In fact, we can expect the exact opposite. If anyone wants consumers to buy iPhones like crazy even more the Tim Cook himself, it’s John Legere….

  6. snkrsfx - 9 years ago

    John Ledger…interesting guy, that one

  7. houstonche - 9 years ago

    What’s so difficult for people to understand that people want a phone that is super durable and resistant to damage? It is an amazing super computer, and it’s very expensive. And while it’s on me to take as good of care of it as possible, I also want the product developer to work as hard as they can to make it durable. I’d rather go back to a slightly thicker design with a bigger battery than continue to flirt with the limits of structural integrity.

    Don’t be surprised when apple quietly improves the structure. I look forward to when they do.

    • PMZanetti - 9 years ago

      It is durable. You use that word as if it’s not. bendygat IS house shit, and so is your post.

      • houstonche - 9 years ago

        There is a distinct difference between an object that deforms and returns to its shape and ones that do not, under a measured amount of realistic stress. Bendgate is a talking point now because the phone no longer “flexes”, but bends and deforms.

        You don’t have to like my post, it doesn’t change the original statement. I want a phone that can put up with abuse, even if my I tent is to never put any abuse on it. Just saying, it’s good enough, does not encourage improvements.

    • o0smoothies0o - 9 years ago

      You need scientific proof that it isn’t durable. The only legitimate scientific proof is that it is durable. Apple has scientifically conclusive tests that suggest it is durable, hence why they released it. Now, others have tested and say it is durable as well, the legitimate trusted sources that is.

      • Edison Wrzosek - 9 years ago

        Bendgate is NOT a problem herb, it just continues to be an imaginary issue in the small minds of faceless trolls like you in cyberspace. Your continued presence and existence at this website however, is a significant issue, that has been proven scientifically by the scatting of your horseshit posts all over the place…

      • timcrook - 9 years ago

        I’m really really sowwy Edison, I’m making strict orders at Apple Inc. to make the next iPhone (6S, 6S+) much more durable. That’s all I can say for now.

      • Andrew John - 9 years ago

        Ha ha, Herb the samescum sheep just keeps parroting the company line. Hope they pay you well for your efforts.

      • houstonche - 9 years ago

        I don’t need proof that it isn’t durable because I haven’t stated that it isn’t durable. I’ve stated the public consensus that people want durable reliable phones. And there can always be improvements. How you define durability is up to you. For me, I don’t have interest in a phone that could potentially, permenantly deform. And I don’t like the protruding camera. my guess is by the time a 6s comes to market there is a good change both concerns will be addressed. And then I’ll rejoin the phone market.

  8. patstar5 - 9 years ago

    This is the same thing with atenagate. Instead of “Your holding it wrong”, it’s “your carrying it wrong”. I have seen countless people carrying Samsung phones in there back pockets and they have never bent. I never even thought of a phone bending until iPhone 6 came along.

    • bb1111116 - 9 years ago

      It is a fact that in the past phones have bent. A cultofmac story called “Get bent: The shocking history of bent smartphones” by Buster Hein goes into detail about this.

      * There is a double standard where Apple products get many negative stories while problems with other company’s products are pretty much ignored.
      * Bending phones has become a big news story because it is a way to criticize Apple.
      But other phones bend.
      * Palming an iPhone 4 was a big story (the antenna issue).
      But other phones also lost signal when held in similar ways which was ignored.
      * Apple’s fingerprint Touch ID feature was criticized.
      Then the inferior Samsung fingerprint tech was not criticized.

      There is a large group of Apple haters who troll stories about Apple.
      And some tech journalists pander to the hate Apple crowd.

      • nsxrebel - 9 years ago

        9to5mac panders to the hate Apple crowd.

      • patstar5 - 9 years ago

        CNET is paid by apple. How come there is a 9to5mac,google,and toys but nothing for Microsoft?

      • giskardian - 9 years ago

        It’s not a double standard, it’s a higher standard for Apple based on their premium prices.

        I expect some cheap Android handset to fall apart if I hold it wrong. An expensive Apple device? I expect it to perform above and beyond average. The CR testing proves that it is in fact far below average in structural rigidity.

  9. macboyproretina - 9 years ago

    While I can agree with his assessment, his filthy, unprofessional, potty mouth leaves a very bad mark on T-Mobile’s name. He does NOT represent any company well when he talks like that.

    • houstonche - 9 years ago

      Agree. If it’s not impacting your sales, why even talk about it? when you are the CEO you gotta carry yourself better than this.

      • o0smoothies0o - 9 years ago

        If less people want to purchase an iPhone 6bevause they are afraid it will bend, less people will go into T mobile and get an iPhone. Is that not a feasible loss of sales?

      • houstonche - 9 years ago

        Smoothie, he said in the very same interview that sales are better than ever. So again, why rub your image that way?

    • irelandjnr - 9 years ago

      Couldn’t disagree more. He was very funny, doesn’t take himself too seriously, told it like it is, and clearly knows how to run a company given how far T-Mobile have come. About time we got real people running some big companies like this rather than stiff suits who talk like robots.

      • macboyproretina - 9 years ago

        I wasn’t disagreeing with his assessment and I wasn’t knocking T-Mobile or any success they may or may not be having. Someone who talks like that in public looks very uneducated, turns off a large segment of customers, and just plain does not represent himself as a professional. Those are facts….

      • irelandjnr - 9 years ago

        He’s not trying to represent himself though, that’s the point; he’s being himself warts and all. It’s funny and refreshing. And he’s not being a jerk here. He’s just not sensoring.

      • Silence Dogood - 9 years ago

        Then don’t visit my neighbor… He uses that colorful language also. Not to be profane. Not in anger or agitation. Not to be intimidating. Not to be sounding uneducated. It’s just the way he communicates is all. It just flows out naturally and for him, fits.

        “Grammar Basics: Sentence Parts and Sentence Structures –

        The basic parts of a sentence are the subject, the verb, and (often, but not always) the object. The subject is usually a noun–a word that names a person, place, or thing. The verb (or predicate) usually follows the subject and identifies an action or a state of being. An object receives the action and usually follows the verb.”

        http://grammar.about.com/od/basicsentencegrammar/a/basicstructures.htm

        For my neighbor and T-Mobile’s CEO, Grammar Basics are subject, verb, !#$%%& curse word, and object.

        Barack Obama is an extremely educated man. He went around the country telling people with health insurance that if they like their plan they can keep their plan. Last weekend, my insurance carrier sent me my letter that over six million received last year telling me, due to Obamacare, they will not insure me when my year long certificate is up. I had a twelve year relationship until Obama came along. Yeah, I can keep my plan! – I FIND THAT MORE OFFENSIVE THEN ANYTHING THAT COMES OUT OF MY NEIGHBOR OR MR. LEGERE’S MOUTH!!!

      • giskardian - 9 years ago

        @Dogwood:

        I also got a letter stating my insurance policy was no longer available as a result of Obamacare. You know what I did? I went onto the federal health exchange, bought a Gold plan from the same insurer I had before (so it covers the same docs and hospitals), and now I pay 2/3s as much as a I did before.

        Maybe the reason you couldn’t keep your health insurance plan was because it was a shitty plan.

    • Sketcher (@Sketcher0204) - 9 years ago

      I actually find it very refreshing. He comes across as a normal guy rather than just another executive in a suit and a $300 haircut. He doesn’t act like a stuffy, conservative businessman and that’s one of the things that is attracting me to T-Mobile. He just tells it like it is, while completely being himself. I’d rather buy something from someone I can have a beer and a fun conversation with, than someone who is just trying to sell me something.

      • macboyproretina - 9 years ago

        Normal? I go back to my point. When you feel you have to drop F words in order to communicate a point, it puts off a signal that you are not articulate, well educated, well mannered, etc. All of those things do not represent ones self well.

        Does one need to drop F words to be “normal” or tell it like it is? A CEO should be able to communicate well and tell it like it is without resorting to that.

        If I recall, Steve Jobs would come across as a normal guy and he didn’t act like a “stuffy, conservative businessman” nor did he have a problem articulating himself in public. I could not have seen Steve Jobs rattle off “That is such horses—t. Listen, what the f—k‚ did you need to see?” in public. Or “What the f– are you putting it in your pants and sitting on it for?” Did Jobs do that behind the scenes? I think we know he did… But to the press, in public? Not that I recall. It is not professional…

      • Sketcher (@Sketcher0204) - 9 years ago

        Yes, normal. I don’t know about you, but just about everyone I know curses. Normal people curse. No, Steve Jobs didn’t do it in public, but he isn’t Steve Jobs, nor does he need to be. He’s being who HE is. I love the fact that he’s being himself and doesn’t care what others think. More CEO’s should be like that. More politicians should be like that. He shouldn’t have to adopt some phoney personality just to attract a few customers who might be offended. Customers are able to relate to him because he dresses and talks like some regular guy you’d meet in a bar, not a businessman. And relating to customers IS professional.

        He doesn’t come across as uneducated for the simple reason that he is running T-Mobile extremely well. Dropping a few curse words doesn’t change that perception. You may be offended by it, but you seem to be in the minority. And his job is to attract the majority customer base, not the few who might be offended.

        The business environment is changing. What you consider “professional” is an old fashioned notion. Cursing is so common in the business environment now, it’s about as offensive as a woman showing her shoulders.

      • Silence Dogood - 9 years ago

        macboyproretina says “Did Jobs do that behind the scenes? I think we know he did… But to the press, in public? Not that I recall. It is not professional…”

        I ask, would you say Jobs was being a little hypocritical? Why would someone who out in public maintains his “professional” composure to someone he doesn’t know, rarely sees, and doesn’t have a work relationship with, but without an afterthought, take to task someone under his employ as a subordinate?!? If Jobs did do that and I agree with you ‘I think we know he did’, that is not the sign of a leader, but a hierarchal bully with a potty mouth who becomes unprofessional when he loses his composure and has a temper tantrum. And why do I say that? Well not knowing Jobs personally, I don’t think he interlaced every other sentence with a colorful word here or a colorful word there, be it at home, out with friends, in his garage, around his neighbors, etc.. It wasn’t who he was. He was profane when he was peeved and had no hesitation about how colorful his remarks became when “addressing” an employee.

        Which is worse? Which sounds more unprofessional? Someone on a couch having an interview ‘shooting the @#$%’ or someone who acts like a ‘freak in the sheets but a lady out in public’?

      • Chris Sanders - 9 years ago

        I agree. Many on here think that using curse words mean you not educated. That is not necessarily true. I think those people don’t like being called on the BS in the harshest of terms…and they use the “when making your valid point you can’t use a curse word otherwise its not valid” because they don’t wish to actually think. They want to dismiss valid logic and opinions without actually thinking about the point being made or they didn’t have a valid point so all they have is he used a word that I don’t like to make his point so that means his point is moot….accept in reality its not moot. Valid logic is still valid logic even if some people don’t like the way a point is being made.

      • giskardian - 9 years ago

        Macboy, are you for real? I’m educated and work with highly educated men and women every day, and most of them swear. Granted, they don’t talk like sailors during their seminars, but in the lab when an experiment goes awry, “awwwww FUCK!” is not an uncommon phrase.

        Judging by how T-Mobile serves their customers, it sounds like they are the least rapacious telecom out there. I’ll take their swearing CEO over some asshole in a suit from Verizon or ATT who just wants to give it to me over a barrel.

    • midiac - 9 years ago

      1st time hearing this man speak, I was BLOWN AWAY by how absolutely REAL he came across, and instantaneously had a tremendous amount of respect for him. Not only is he connecting with his prime demographic, but he isn’t holding back how he feels and his own true expression of the industry and life around us. Gained a huge amount of respect from me, and made me think twice about potentially giving their test drive option a shot. Lots of benefits in a tough industry. Not too many people happy with AT&T or Verizon’s customer service or control tactics. I think this guy actually really be onto something. Will be watching T-Mobile with GREAT interest indeed :)

    • giskardian - 9 years ago

      Oooohhh, a Potty Mouth!

      Did you think Steve Jobs was a poopy head for swearing so much?

  10. Emma Jones - 9 years ago

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  11. monty72 - 9 years ago

    I like him, can we keep him?

  12. virtualstorm - 9 years ago

    Actually, this is the first time I hear this guy. I am impressed. I like him!

  13. terminalcode2014 - 9 years ago

    I like what T-Mobile is doing as a carrier and I like what their CEO is doing. Their only problem for me is that they are the only major carrier where I live that doesn’t get any reception. If that was fixed then I might switch to T-Mobile.

  14. Dimitri Kyriakis - 9 years ago

    Carrier CEOs have to talk good about Apple because if they do not, Apple can cut them off or short supply them. Seen then before..

    What he said tho is true. Bendgate isn’t a huge issue & the media & everyone is making is look so bad when its not.

  15. mafr2532 - 9 years ago

    I/ve not seen any site talking about the fact the video where the guy force the iPhone 6 to bend at the beginner the clock is showing 2 PM (I am not sure) and after all test the same clock is showing 1 PM, WTF?? Time is going back?

  16. Edison Wrzosek - 9 years ago

    OK, normally I think Johnny boy here is a little too abrasive to be the CEO of a large cellular provider, but I have to admit, he is entertaining to watch ;)

    Jokes aside, he does make a very (bluntly) valid point, in that this whole #bendgate crap is just horseshit. I peaonally believe his statement as well that the iPhone 6/6+ are the best phones on the market, and are DEFINITELY leaps and bounds ahead of Scamdung, but I know several people here (starting with herb), will immediately say that he’s forced to say this due to contractural obligations to Apple. While that might be true, I still trust him.

    Actually, the fact he’s a little A.D.D. makes me trust him more.

  17. Jasper Yeung - 9 years ago

    oh my god, this CEO is amazing and funny too , i can feel that he has the assertiveness to lead T mobile to even greater success, tho i must confess . I’m not in the US…

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